Captains Notebook: Boston College
Notre Dame captains Greer Martini, Mike McGlinchey, Nyles Morgan and Drue Tranquill, met with the media on Wednesday to preview Saturday’s matchup with Boston College.
On the team coming off Saturday’s loss:
Martini: “For the most part these guys on the team really don't need many people telling them what to do. I think everyone is really focused on the next goal and that's beating BC. “You get kind of 24 hours to be kind of sorry for yourself after a loss like that. Sunday night, you you've kind of got to get refocused. Monday we woke up, and we were ready to get back after it.”
McGlinchey: “You get back out to practice yesterday, on Tuesday and you can kind of wash the stink off of you. I mean, you sit there all weekend and just watch that one play over and over and over again, and you kind of drive yourself insane.
“But it's one play. It's one of those things that I've got to -- I guess I've got to work on the timing of my misses because it was a pretty brutal one. But no, you can't really get fully back into it until there's a game plan in front of you and there's the next opponent. Just go back to work on what you can control, and the team that we're going to face this week at Boston College.”
Morgan: “Guys will get back after it. Guys will, you know, scheme and practice, like yesterday. Guys were really into in practice. Guys were really dialed in. Guys really were focused. We're not worried about last year. I'm not worried about last year. It's on to the game next and worrying about playing BC.”
Tranquill: “We really want to get back out there. We're disappointed with the outcome because we know what we've put in since this thing kind of started back in January. So we're disappointed.
“Losing is losing, and it's unacceptable around here. We could make any excuse in the book, none of them are valid, and so we are just looking for an opportunity to get back on the field, build our traits and continue building this thing into what we know that it can be.”
On the rivalry game with Boston College:
Martini: “It's going to be a tough, hard-fought game. They always play us really well. Yeah, I think they are just a good football team, and it's should be a good football game. They are a really physical team, and I think there's also a lot at stake here. We are both Catholic institutions, and there's a little pride involved with that, as well.”
McGlinchey: “I've got a guy that I've looked up to my entire life since I was a little kid that went there. And my football fandom started by watching Boston College and what Matt (Ryan) was able to do on Saturdays there, and that's when I really, truly fell in love with the game of football and started to dream a little bit.
“Playing BC, it's a great program. I was very interested in going to school there when I was a high school kid. Luckily I chose to go here, in my personal opinion. It's just one of those things that it's cool because I have a lot of family ties there. Matt went there. My uncle, John Locker, played there in the early 80s, and yeah, just it's one of those things that it's a cool game for me.
“It was cool back in 2015 when we went to play at Fenway, and there's a lot of history between the two of our programs. We've got two Division-I Catholic institutions in America and the Holy War, I guess, you can call it.”
Morgan: “They are a hard-nosed team, another Catholic institution, and they are going to give us their best shot, and we're going to give them ours.”
Tranquill: “I think of a tough football team, a team that loves to play Notre Dame their absolute best and gives Notre Dame everything they can handle every time they come out.
“So I expect a tough, physical football game. I expect them to come in, probably a little trickeration on offense. Probably want to establish the run game. They are going to play physically defensively.”
On Saturday being the first road game:
Martini: “I think that for someone that's already traveled to away games, it's not that big of a deal because you already have that routine but for the younger guys that it's their first travel game. I think that's the hardest thing is to get them to know what we do on away games.
“Not speaking about last year or anything, I think that we're ready for this game. We're going to be ready to go in there and get a W.”
McGlinchey: “I guess the added things that come along with going on the road, I mean, you can't really make an excuse because everybody has to do it. You know, there's different wrinkles about traveling and different crowds and things, and it's just you're not in your element.
“So adding the road is just a different wrinkle but it's hard to win at home, too, clearly. We've had our fair share of losses at home, as well. You know, college football is just hard to win in general. There are a couple of logistical things that come along with playing on the road that makes things more difficult than they needed to be. But every week is really, really hard to win a game, and we've just got to do our part to make sure that we win both home and away from here on forward.”
Morgan: “Like I say, you know, home, away, we're trying to get every win. Doesn't change, not for me, at least. Maybe for other guys, maybe different atmosphere, different stadium. Biggest thing I always say for the entire team, just stay focused on just the game. Don't get caught up in here or there. We have a job to do.”
Tranquill: “I think going on the road with young guys is difficult. They haven't necessarily experienced it. I can't really, I'm kind of focused on this year, and so I guess we'll see how we perform on the road this year.
But our message is consistent, whether we're playing at home or playing on the road. Offensively, there's going to be adjustments obviously with crowd noise going on the road and potentially have to go on silent snaps. Defensively, going on the road is a little bit easier. It's not as loud. You're able to communicate better.”
On Boston College redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Brown:
Tranquill: “He provides a little bit of dual-threat. I think he's composed. I think he puts the ball up a little -- how do I want to say this. Last week, had the turnovers; I think his coaching staff will make adjustments and put him in better positions to make plays this week.
“And so I expect him to come back and bounce back, poised and play within their offense. I think their coaching staff will do a good job of establishing balance for him and allowing him to be successful.”
Martini: “He's a good quarterback. But for us, it's more about focusing on our job, because we really haven't done that much scouting report on them as much as we're just kind of getting down the scheme for ourselves.”
Morgan: “ I would say that he's a dual-threat. He can run and throw. So we have something in store for that.”
On confidence the defense will continue toimprove:
Tranquill: “The consistency in our coaching staff and the consistency in guys' desire to come and work on a day-to-day basis. It hasn't changed since January.
“So whenever something is constant like that, I don't expect it to change. Kind of like equilibrium in engineering, right. You don't expect things to go out of equilibrium. Things are constant on their end and constant in the work input, in the preparation, and so I can foresee us continuing to have success week-in and week-out on defense.”
On creating balance on offense:
McGlinchey: “You just have to kind of study. You know, study and figure out where -- I guess it's not really for us to study, but our coaches. They study the game plan and put the things in place that they feel is going to best attack defenses and this week we have Boston College.
“Then it's our job as players to execute to the best of our ability and no matter what the play is called, everybody has got a specific job on that play, and you've got to make sure that you're doing it.
If you're not doing it, that's when a lack of balance comes or the lack of, however, you want to call it comes, and it's just those things that certain defenses do a lot of different things to take things away from you, especially if they watch you on film and see strengths that your offense has portrayed over the weeks prior and it's our job to combat those things and execute to the best of our ability and make sure that our offense has the options to do whatever we can to put points on the board.”
On Boston College defensive end Harold Landry:
McGlinchey: “He's a fantastic football player. I think he had 16 and a half or 17 sacks last year. Obviously doing something right. He's a really good football player. Quick off the edge, strong, shifty and he has a high motor, and that's normally a good combination for getting past offensive tackles like myself. We've got to do a good job this week in preparing for him and the rest of BC's defensive ends.
“The good thing about the offensive line is that most of what happens out there is in my control. So Harold is going to have to react to what I do to him more so than I'm going to have react to what he does to me in terms of how to block him. That's what I like about playing my position is that I just can keep working and working and working until I feel comfortable with how I'm moving, how I'm setting and how I'm getting on blocks.”
On what was learned about the team after the loss:
Morgan: “Guys are really dialed into their assignment and executing their defense at a high level, I feel like. Obviously, you know, it's football, and things happen but overall standpoint, pretty pleased.”
Tranquill: “I think their just response to adversity and love for one another. Offensively, I think all our guys would say, you know, we didn't play to the best that we could have played and there wasn't a single defensive guy pointing fingers. There wasn't a single offensive guy. There was no one pointing fingers at anyone.
“It was a total responsibility taken on part of our team, and I've just seen guys come around each other, and just guys on the sideline -- and Coach Kelly talked about this on Monday, was guys just like they are uplifting one another; they are encouraging one another.”